For any even modest admirer of the enigmatic songwriter Townes Van Zandt, the film "Be Here to Love Me" is a must watch (available from NetFlix here). Even without the great music culled from rare footage of live performances in various folks' living rooms, the movie would stand on its own just for the stories recounted by his many great friends (including the likes of Joe Ely, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, and especially Guy Clark.) No narrator is necessary to move the documentary along: this story is woven together efficiently by editing the many interviews to describe the action on the screen.

To those somewhat familiar with Townes life, he is accurately painted as alternatively engaging and frightening, and capable of just about anything. An example is the story of him falling off a four story balcony on purpose, just to see what it would feel like at the moment he started to fall.
This rare glimpse into Townes' day-to-day life, albeit liquor soaked, provided insight into his sense of humor and personable nature, giving lie to the usual description of him as perpetually depressed (granted, he is depressed quite a bit.) After watching Be Here to Love Me, you come away knowing that this was a giving man, whose cup runneth over with friends and family. But mostly you see a different breed of cat, whose single-minded devotion to his songcraft left him perpetually just a little out of touch with reality (the liquor and drugs didn't help his grasp of reality either).

The DVD contains some interesting extras including live performances and extended interviews with friends and family.